Izbucul Tăuz (Tăuz-forrás)

A deep blue resurgence pool at about 850 m altitude, a 10–15 minute walk from the Gârda de Sus – Casa de Piatră road; it drains the Coiba Mare cave 2.5 km away. Divers have pushed it since 1982: Czakó László reached 47 m, a Czech team 70 m in 1988, Wiktor Bolek 85 m in 2001, and in 2014 Finnish divers passed the second siphon and explored the fourth siphon to 60 m. The record is 87 m. Expedition leader Rafał Garski died here in October 2002 and was recovered from 78 m. The water stays at 4–6 °C even in summer.

Facts

Region: Romania – Cave diving & karst springs
Area: Apuseni – Gârda & Arieșeni
Depth: 0–87 m
Level: advanced
Current: moderate
Type: cave
Coordinates: 46.51443, 22.78285 (approximate)
Highlights: karst resurgence in Apuseni Natural Park, water 4–6 °C even in summer, siphons down to 85 m (record 87 m), expedition history since 1982, visibility can drop below 0.5 m, siphon chain
Permit: Cave-diving exploration ('speleological dives by specialised teams') is an activity that needs authorisation from the Speleological Heritage Commission (Comisia Patrimoniului Speologic, Bucharest, Bld. Libertății 12); the authorisation sets entries and party size per cave and may include closed periods (e.g. bat hibernation). Diveable only with Full Cave / cave-diver certification, as a specialised team with local cavers; there is no published option for independent recreational dives. The spring is a 1 ha protected area inside Apuseni Natural Park.
Issuer / contact: Speleological Heritage Commission (Comisia Patrimoniului Speologic), Ministry of Environment
- Email: cps@mmediu.ro
- Website: https://www.mmediu.ro/
Tips: Not for swimming, and only for expedition-level cave divers. Visibility after rain can be below 0.5 m for days. Reach it from DJ 750 about 9 km from the DN 75 junction at Gârda de Sus, on the blue-dot trail. The pin marks the spring as mapped in OpenStreetMap.

Izbucul Tăuz (Tăuz-forrás)

Facts

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